Comic-Con 2009 TV News Round-up
What Lies Ahead Next Season for Lost, Heroes and Dollhouse
Comic-Con began in 1970 as a celebration of comic books, and an opportunity for self-confessed geeks to gather and share their passions. In recent years TV has become far more integral to the convention as Sci-Fi and Fantasy programming sneaks ever closer to the mainstream. Actors, producers and writers from the biggest geek-magnet shows currently airing all now host panels at Comic-Con, giving fans the ideal opportunity to grill them about plot twists and future storylines. So what does Fall 2009 have in store for quality TV?
Goodbye Dharma Initiative; Lost Reinvents Itself Once More
The producers of Lost have always seemed keen to give each season it's own identity, and the Dharma Initiative/time travel-heavy Season Five was no exception. It's understandable, then, that at Comic-Con producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof insisted that Season Six wouldn't feature time travel or flashforwards at all, and that a new story-telling device would be introduced. Parallel universes, perhaps?
That could certainly help to explain how the apparently dead characters of Juliet and Faraday will appear in Season Six, with actors Elizabeth Mitchell and Jeremy Davies scheduled to appear in a handful of episodes. There has also been growing speculation about other actors returning to the show, with Maggie Grace (whose character Shannon was killed off in the second season) rumoured to be filming in Hawaii.
The other major actor-related news for the Sixth (and final) Season is that Nestor Carbonell, the actor behind the apparently immortal islander Richard Alptert, will become a full-time regular. Great news for the fans who have been clamouring for answers for the last several years!
Season Six of Lost will have 18 episodes and is due to start airing in February 2010.
Heroes Season Four to be Titled Redemption; Returning to Season One-style Storylines?
The Heroes panel at Comic-Con was attended by several new members of the cast such as Ray Park, Madeline Zima, and Dawn Oliveri but perhaps the most important news to longtime fans of the show focused on the original characters. After a few critically controversial seasons, with many fans railing against the shows storylines and characterisation, it seems there may be a concerted effort to return to the style of storytelling so popular in the first season.
Characters such as Peter and Matt will return to their professions (paramedic and policeman respectively) and the focus of the show will apparently shift from hunting down people with powers to a more empathetic approach, examining how these super-powered people handle their abilities. Whilst these could simply be superficial changes it does suggest that the producers of the show may have latched onto what made it popular in the first place.
The Nathan/Sylar issue is due to be a major ongoing storyline, with the news that Zachary Quinto is remaining on the show proving a relief to his fans, whilst fan favourite Hiro is rumoured to receive a terminal illness and begin traveling through time to correct his mistakes.
Heroes Season Four kicks off on Monday September 21st, 2009 on NBC.
Wesley, Apollo... and River? Genre Actors Descend on Dollhouse for Second Season
Much to the surprise and delight of many of its fans, Joss Whedon's Dollhouse was renewed for a second season after a ratings-troubled first year. Whedon appeared at Comic-Con alongside Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku to air the missing episode of the first season, Epitaph One", and drop some hints about what to expect in Season Two.
The biggest news for Whedonphiles is perhaps that Alexis Denisof, best known for playing Wesley in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, is scheduled to appear in a handful of episodes. It's yet unknown what character he will be playing, but his appearance is surely welcome news for longterm Whedon fans. The same goes for the rumours surrounding Summer Glau, whose recent TV show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was recently cancelled. Glau, a firm favourite of Whedon's ever since appearing as a guest star in Angel and a regular in Firefly, is not confirmed for Dollhouse yet but Whedon has expressed a firm interest in having her on the show.
The latest confirmed casting news for Dollhouse Season Two is that the premiere will feature Jamie Bamber, Battlestar Galactica's Apollo, as someone heavily involved in one of Echo's engagements. His appearance will mark a reunion of sorts, as he acted opposite Dollhouse's Tahmoh Penikett for several years on Battlestar Galactica.
Dollhouse returns on Friday September 25th, 2009, for thirteen episodes on Fox.
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